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Rep. Stan Jordan Amended the Law for Personal Gains

Thanks to a reader with a great memory, we have taken a closer look at Stan Jordan’s record as a state representative. What we found reminded us why we dislike career politicians who use their elected positions for benefits the rest of us can hardly envision for ourselves.

As the Orlando Sentinel reported in 2004, during his first term in the Florida House, Representative Stan Jordan introduced an amendment in the House which would allow elected officials to collect their retirement and pension checks, while remaining in public office.

The amendment was approved late in the session, with many legislators referring to it as the “Jordan amendment.” However, it was soon the target of criticism as an unfair advantage for high-paid elected officials. In one example, State Attorney Lawson Lamar was a staggering beneficiary, receiving more than $750,000 in retirement payments, without retiring from office.

Rep. Jordan was another beneficiary, although not to the same extent. Upon his amendment’s passage, Jordan received a lump-sum payment of $73,952 and continues to receive monthly checks for $2,230. This, despite the fact that Jordan has remained in elected office for the 8 years since he began receiving his retirement benefits.

At the time, Jordan’s reasoning for his amendment was his inability to officially retire without also resigning his position as a state representative. He explained, “All I was trying to do was exercise my retirement. I was held hostage.”Of course, Jordan has not retired from public office. He continued as a state representative until term limits prevented his re-election in 2008, when he won election to the Duval County School Board. Now, Jordan is planning to resign his seat on the School Board to run for the late Jim King’s State Senate seat in District 8, furthering continuing his career in politics as he collects his monthly retirement checks.

We suppose this is what happens to career politicians who spend a quarter century in various offices. Eventually, they lose touch with the way the rest of us live. While the rest of us tighten our budgets, do we really want to send Stan Jordan back to Tallahassee to collect another government paycheck to go along with his monthly “retirement” checks? I guess anything is possible in politics.